Page 23 of The Woman

He starts heading the way he indicated, and I consider moving in the opposite direction, but I do need to let my grandfather know I’m here, so I follow him to the group of men. One of them has his woman standing in front of him with her breasts out, and the other men are staring at them, nodding.

“I was going to go for three sizes bigger, but I settled for two. So far, I really like them,” he says to the group as we arrive. Then he reaches around her to fondle a breast. “Touch them. They’ve got a very natural feel to them.”

Each of the men, including my grandfather, take turns touching her. I’m on the outskirts of the group, so I have the advantage of not necessarily being included in the conversation.

I turn Avery and myself away from them as if I didn’t hear what the man said and then lean down to talk quietly in her ear. “Are you hungry?”

She glances up at me, her eyes slightly rounded. I can’t decipher the look on her face, but I think she was watching the scene. “I am,” she answers just as quietly.

I go to lead us away, but my grandfather finally notices us and approaches. “Phoenix, there you are. I was just talking about you earlier. Come, show them your pick.”

I feel Avery’s body stiffen beside me, but it could very well have been my hand tightening on her waist. Either way, I hesitate for a moment, figuring out how to play this. With several pairs of eyes watching expectantly, I finally push her forward.

“This is the one. Avery, say hello.”

She dips her chin and then turns her mouth into a smile. “Hello.”

“Beautiful,” I hear one man say.

“Those are pretty eyes,” another adds.

“I bet you make good use of her,” a guy who has a nasal voice says. “If you’re interested in lending her out, I’d be more than happy to take her.”

Another man steps forward and tries to touch her, but I pull her back to stand by my side, returning my arm to its position around her waist.

“I don’t like to share.”

The group of men are silent as they stare back at me. You can still hear the loud sounds of the rest of the room, but it’s as if we’re in a bubble of quiet. My grandfather’s brows are lowered into a look of disapproval, but just as he’s about to say something, one of the men starts to laugh, followed by another, and soon enough, all are chuckling.

“That’s exactly what I was like when I first got mine,” the man who laughed first says.

“Me, too. For the first few days,” a couple of others echo.

“Not me,” Nasal Voice comments. “I got mine before my friends, so I shared her with them.”

They all start chatting amongst themselves, and with the focus off us, my grandfather takes a step closer, lifting a cigar to his mouth and lighting it, his pinky ring glittering under the light.

“These events are good for business, good for making connections and forming friendships with other people in high places. You do a favor for them; they do one for you.” After sweeping his gaze around the room, his gray eyes land on me once more. “Make sure you do your best to make these connections. That group didn’t matter so much, but if the right person wants to fuck your woman, you should let them. Understand?” He swings his gaze to Avery and then back to me again. “There are some people I want to introduce you to after dinner. I’ll come find you.”

With that, he walks off into the crowd.

While thinking of my grandfather’s words and wondering why it makes me feel uneasy, I lead Avery to a table half hidden by an ice sculpture but still with a view of the stage they have set up.

When she goes to sit next to me, I pull her to sit in my lap instead. I’ve seen enough of the way the men behave here to know this would be considered normal. She startles at the abrupt movement but then shuffles her body to sit sideways with an arm draped around my neck.

The feel of her ass rubbing against my cock while getting comfortable has me placing a hand on her thigh to stop her movements. But the slit in her dress has her thigh completely exposed, so my hand lands on her bare skin.

Instead of moving it away, I begin brushing my fingers back and forth, feeling the smoothness under my fingertips, eliciting a full-body shiver from Avery.

Her soft skin is addicting, but what I’m enjoying more is the effect it has on her. A pink flush can be seen on her cheeks even in the dim area we’re seated in, and I can see the rise and fall of her chest increasing along with the rapid flutters of the pulse in her neck and the fidgeting of her fingers resting on her other thigh.

She remains facing out into the crowd as I continue stroking her thigh, moving further between her legs with each circle.

I tilt my head, watching as she swallows thickly when I move my fingers closer to the area where pleasure is derived from, and then graze my fingers against her underwear. For some reason, I’m completely enraptured by her at this moment. Her eyes flutter as I run my knuckles harder against her center and then move to where I remember seeing the clit’s location in the sex videos.

She tries to shift, but I hold her still with my other hand on her hip, pressing into her even harder, focusing one knuckle on her clit, rubbing back and forth. Her underwear feels damp and hot, making my cock further thicken in my pants. The hand she had resting on my shoulder takes a fist full of my tuxedo jacket while the other clenches on her thigh. I can tell she wants to close her eyes but continues staring ahead, watching people chat and mingle.

The slightest whimper escapes her lips before she bites down into her lower lip, perhaps to keep herself quiet. I keep rubbing faster, totally lost in the moment, obsessed with wanting to see her reactions. I push her panties aside and continue, my fingers surrounded by her heat as I rub.

---